So I am back with another book review. I’m reviewing this
book for NetGalley, a website that
offers books to be reviewed that have yet to be published. I am a little behind on this review,
and The Balance Project by Susie Orman Schnall came out on April 28.
Because this book review is for more of a formal setting, I have decided to
change up my style. I mean, I actually took notes on this one. There are highlights on
those notes to make this post the best post ever. Let me know what you think.
The Balance Project takes on the topic of women
having it all in the work force (hence: balance). I actually wrote a blog
post on a similar topics last year. The novel certainly does take on some
really good points about dreams and what it means to have it all. It also
outlines family and how that is incorporated into a busy working life. There
were points that I found could be insulting to women in the workforce,
but most of those issues were resolved in the end. The novel is from the point
of view of Lucy Cooper, but her boss Katherine Whitney is placed as her foil
(there’s my English degree peeking out there). It was an interesting way to
place the story, and it drew me in.
I ended up really like the narration in the story. It does
not fall under the category of my favourite books, but you end up really
hearing the voice of the characters. I think the best way to describe it is
relatable. All the conversations mimic the way people actually talk, so it was
an easy read, and it built the characters up effectively. The novel does end up
being predictable by the end, so that was disappointing, but the inciting
action made it like a mystery that forced me to carry on.
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The overall tone of the novel seemed a lot like The Devil
Wears Prada. Granted, I have never read the book, but I have seen the movie and
that was all I could think about for the first 2/3 of the book. A couple of my
pet peeves are a change of fonts when a handwritten note comes into play, and,
as of recent, texting conversations within a novel. This book had both, and that irked me. The cliché
small town family and the predictability made me roll my eyes. The novel had a
lot of interviews that Katherine (the boss) was participating in, and the
author always added Lucy’s comments of analysis in between the interview. That
made me feel like I could not think for myself. I also found the inciting action
took too long to happen, and that the author tried too hard to make chapters
end on a cliff hanger.
Due to the nature of the narration, I was able to feel a
connection to the main character Lucy Cooper right away, and I feel strongly
about her actions. To be honest, she bothers me. Does this woman not have a
backbone? The whole novel she knows exactly what she wants but doesn’t know how
to get it. She needs validation to make any decision on every level of her
life, and that bothers me so much! When she actual makes a decision for
herself, I am so proud of her, but she often goes back on what she says and
seems wishy-washy. There is, however, something to be said about her being human. Going
back to my point about being relatable, yes, Lucy is relatable because it can
be difficult to fully believe in decisions that change your entire life. I just
like my heroines to have a stronger backbone. I would like Lucy a lot more if
she actually owned up to her decisions.
Overall, the story was intriguing, but the writing itself
was not the best. There are feminist issues at hand, and I am not well versed
enough to comment directly on those. However, the question at hand was the
ability to maintain a balanced lifestyle, and it made me question what that
really means. For a rating, I give the writing a 2, and the story itself a 4 because
I could not stop reading. So that averages out to a 3/5. Not a bad book by any means. It’s an
easy read, and the characters are set up wonderfully.
Let me know if you read it yourself!
-Daniella
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